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The third chapter about my trip out west has been a bit delayed in coming. @piranha graciously referred me to a book on Green River leaves, the main subject of this posting. It was a wonderful book full of beautiful pictures and relevant information on the flora of the Green River Formation. And I immersed myself in it as a way to“semi ID” my finds. For those who are interested: MacGinitieH.D.1969 The Eocene Green River Flora of Northwestern Colorado and Northeastern Utah. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences, 83:1-140 In addition to piranha, I need to thank a “to remain nameless” forum member who directed me to the site. I also stopped at Florissant for a short time, which contains many similar if not identical species at its location. So, my finds are a mixture of the two sites, but mostly Green River. To begin my journey, I exited the highway onto what was thought to be the proper road. It seemed more like an abandon trail, but the landmark mentioned was present. It concerned me, with the small low riding rental car being driven, the likelihood of getting stuck existed. Roads like this never stopped me before, so off I went. And besides, it is a rental car!!!! Looking at my directions, it instructed me to turn right at the next “dinosaur”. What a unique instruction. I couldn’t wait to see what was ahead. After seemingly hours, traveling under 10 mph, seeing nothing but expanses of sagebrush reaching to the horizon, I finally reached my next turnoff. And yes there it was, the dinosaur, clear as day (mixed in with a little pareidolia) soaking up the warmth of the morning sun. After turning right and many more rough miles of travel, I finally reached this isolated spot of Green River Formation. It is the light-colored rock in the foreground. The beauty of the Utah landscape overwhelmed my senses and I just sat on the rim of the canyon taking it all in. It is moments like this that keep me “fossil hunting”. My mind, body and spirit were united as one! Enough of this meditation stuff. You want to see fossils!! First up are the possible insects found. Again, pareidolia may be part of what I am seeing so forgive me if some are misidentified as insects. My readings told of seeds frequently encountered in the Green River. These pictures depict what I believe are seed like structures. Possibly Somara ailanthus: A legume pod?? Next are unknowns to me. They appear to be coniferous. The next specimen was tentatively IDed as a coniferous leafy shoot. But in the book that I attempted to make my IDs from, the tip of a fern, Asplenium delicatula looked very similar. Woody pieces are found on occasion. The first one pictured matches Equisetum winchesteri closely. The next two are unknowns that I keep seeing as flowers. Hopefully not more pareidolia. An odd trace fossil. Now I will show samples of the Green River leaves found. I was unprepared for splitting this matrix. My lowly bon big face Estwing brick hammer could not peel up large enough slabs of matrix, resulting in many partial leaves like these. Be prepared for the need of multiple small chisels and pry bars if better specimens are wanted. The first leaf is similar to Quercus petros. The next leaf is suggestive of a legume. Finally Eugenia americana?? Next are a few Florissant leaves. The middle one possibly Populus heeri. Next up is Astronium truncatum. Notice the matrix is NOT flat and the leaf conforms to the undulations. This is common with leaves from Florissant. Dinner time!! I will finish this post when my after dinner nap concludes!

Before I post a trip report, I was hoping to get a few IDs that are giving me some trouble. First up are possible insects. 1. Crane Fly?? 2. positive and negative. Bee?? 3. Has the termite feel!! 4. Another Crane Fly Now what appear to me to be plant oriented material. 5. I am torn between three leaf clover (but how would that end up in a lake), or a flower, or a seed pod cluster. 6. Total unknown 7. Finally this confusing specimen. Great symmetry so must be something!

A few days were spent in the Green River Formation collecting fossil leaves and insects. Now comes the momentous task of identifying my finds. I have piece mealed together some information that has helped a bit. BUT by no means am I happy with my results. Does anyone know of a great guide or article which would help someone like me make proper IDs. Thanks, Mike

Is this a Knightia? If so, why does it look like squidward? Im only assuming it's from the Green River because I found it in a box with stuff that is definitely from the Green River.

I was tempted recently to pick up a DIY fossil prep kit from an online retailer, have always been curious and wanted to give it a shot. You guys make it seem so easy! I only have manual tools (kit included a metal pick and I've started using a hobby knife to remove some of the upper layers a little faster). The whole slab is approx 17cm and the fish itself is maybe around 11cm. I started this thread to share my progress and get a little feedback. Any tips? Anything I absolutely shouldn't do, or do more of? There is also a big lump visible above the fish, wondering if that is worth digging into or if its more likely to be nothing of interest. Having fun so far!! Thanks for any feedback

Another recent acquisition; a beetle of some flavor from Colorado. Good looking piece, both pos/neg are there, but it looks like something flaked off during prep/collection and was put back on. Can anyone tell from these photos if the annotated crack looks stable, or if not, what should I use to shore it up? It won't be handled on a regular basis, but I want to make sure it's not going to fall off on its own. Sorry about the varying lighting; one photo is from the vendor's site, the other was self-shot. I assure you that they're the same specimen. The vendor has agreed to make things right if it can't be stabilized, so at least there's that. Any suggestions/info that can be gained from these photos?

Hi gang - My fiancé’s mom came across a fossil fish at a flea market and she ended up getting it. She sent me a picture asking about its species and where it’s from, but I haven’t a clue. Any ideas? Thanks!

Everyone I've encountered on this site has been very helpful, so thank you. However, I'm in need of more help. For the last year I've been collecting real fossils in the field and selling some to pay for more exotic rocks. In a recent post I found that my Solnhofen shrimp is, if not totally, mostly fake. Now I'm quite suspicious of my entire purchased collection and was hoping you could help me identify fakes. The first two pictures are apparently Priscacara, Green River Formation, Eocene; the next two supposedly Asteroidea, Morocco, Ordovician; the last three supposedly Triassic, Arizona petrified wood--this came from the same group that sold me the fake shrimp. All help is appreciated.

I recently finished preparing a fish fossil from the Green River formation that I purchased online. The site said that the fossil would be either a Knighta or a Diplomystus. From looking at images, the face seemed to look like a Diplomystus but the body seemed more like Knighta. Could anyone tell me which it is? Thanks in advance, Tigereagle12345 Measurements are 11.5 cm by 2.5 cm

Here’s a tease of one of my upcoming prep projects. It’s not next in queue but it’s coming soon. I spent some time doing exploratory prep on it for the last couple of days. Anyone know what it is? I’ll give you 2 hints. It’s from the Green River Formation and it’s not a fish.

I found this rock near Green River Utah, east of the San Rafael Swell. Can anyone help me identify it?

On August 12, 2021, I went with my family to a fossil dig in Kemmerer, Wyoming. Two friends from Japan went with us also. We all found a lot of fossils that day. The two friends from Japan even found a small whole Phareodus testis! There was, however, one fossil that was unusual, and we couldn’t get the exact species. Picture is attached. All the people at the quarry said was that it’s a wood imprint, or something like that, I don’t exactly remember. Here is the question. Is this a wood fossil? Second question, if it is wood, is it possible to identify the exact species? I ask because I am getting ready to frame and label it. If the exact species cannot be figured out, that’s okay. I’ll find out how to label it. Any help will be appreciated, Jared

Welcome to another Fossil Friday! My video today is my first time prepping a fish from the Green River formation, 18-inch layer. This fossil was from recovered from outside of Kemmerer, WY by a friend, @Ptychodus04

Hello, Next summer I am going to visit Northamerica for my first time, and would really like to visit a Green River commercial quarry; my problems (doubts) are: Which one is the better quarry?, referring to abundance and variety. I live in Spain, and I guess the fossils are too heavy to carry on a plane, so I thought to send them by mail, will I have problems with customs?. In that case, can someone from the quarry provide me a certificate that these fossils have been legally collected? Which messaging company should I use?, preferably a careful one. How should I pack the fossils to protect them? Any other info/advise will also be gratefully thanked.

I bought this ratty broken split fish several years back at an auction really, really cheap. It was mis-identified as a "Priscacara liops". It was my introduction to Green River fish. This fossil has some revealing details. This is a 7" Priscacara serrata and it displays the characteristic molariform teeth in the pharyngeal region that would normally be hidden in a more intact specimen. This type of tooth is for crushing prey. I would say this broken fellow displays these pharyngeal teeth even more clearly than the picture in Lance Grande's The Lost World of Fossil Lake. And he must have had thousands of specimens to choose from. See for yourself. These broken cheapos can be terrific! The entire fossil

Hello! When I bought my air abrasive a year ago the guy that I bought it from gave me a bunch of unprepped green river fish as he was retiring. One issue that seems to commonly come up is that no matter how low I set my psi or how slow I go on some fish the "skin" seems to pit and develop holes. Is there any way to avoid this? I've gone down to as low as 1-3psi with dolomite and this still happens. I've noticed that it tends to happen on disarticulated specimens mostly, and part of me feels this is more of a preservation issue than anything. The guy I got my abrasive from also included paint I'm assuming for this very reason, but I want to use it as sparingly as possible.

Hi everyone, I made a discovery of a Knightia on August 12th, 2021 at the green river formation in Wyoming. Today, I noticed something VERY interesting. Pictures are attached, one under a high power magnifier. As you can see, this Knightia did NOT get fossilized on its side. On the contrary, it is almost a top-down view of the fish. You can see one whole eye socket, as well as a part of the other, you can see where the spine attaches to the skull, the ribs go both ways, the tail is top down, the list goes on. It even looks like there are 2 nostrils, but this I am not sure about. The skull looks REALLY weird with an almost top-down view! Brings a lot of questions to my mind. Anyway, What do you guys see in this fossil that is interesting? I am open to any ideas that will help me study it. Time to study this fossil more! Jared

So, I was going through my fossils from my last trip to Kemmerer Wyoming. One of them accidentally split, revealing this. It looks like a kind of Coprolite, but I’m not sure. It’s got scales in it, but it’s too flat to be regular Coprolite. I suspect it is stingray Coprolite, as the people there told us to watch out for it, because they have been finding a lot. Can someone help me ID this? Jared

After my first glimpse of The Lost World of Fossil Lake by Lance Grande (if you don’t have it, get it at any price!), I was hooked on Green River fossils. Here is the first one I prepared myself. I bought it directly from one of several “storied” Wyoming quarries. It is from the 18-inch layer and is not found by splitting the fish but by detecting the raised surface of the skull and vertebrae. Then one must somehow scrape away the relatively soft matrix to expose the fossil below (perhaps 1 to 5mm deep). The tools I used are pine vises that held sewing needles. If I could safely scrape away layers, I used an eyeglass screwdriver in the pin vise, but pins work for precise work. I visualized the fossil as I worked with a stereoscopic microscope on a boom so it can hover over the fossil without touching it. Here is the progression of pictures I took back in 2017. This is a 4.75 inch Cockerellites liops. I am told in the quarry they are called “footballs”, are beautiful fish armed with strong spines to prevent predator attack from behind. It took me about two months on and off- it is seriously laborious but somewhat calming or maybe even meditative. After months with a fossil like this, you become attached to it. Before starting If anyone knows how to do this more quickly with the same or better quality, please comment.

Hi everyone, My third trip to Kemmerer, Wyoming is in one week. I’m going to be digging in the Green River information. Last trip, I came home with a whole Mioplosus labracoides. This time, we have two friends from Japan digging with us. My goal for this trip is to find ANY decent fossil to show my Japanese friends who are digging with us. I don’t care what we find, as long as we all have fun. The only problem is, their suitcases are full. They can’t bring fossils back to Japan with them because they don’t have room in their suitcases. As a result, I will add them to my collection if need be and label them as the discoverer. I will keep you all posted. Jared

Day 5 in South Dakota was a total bust for my son and me. The section of the quarry we worked has large ironstone and clay boulders, but also has large bones. We sat next to a jacketed femur and worked back the wall face. We didnt find more than a few small bits at the end of the day, but I said that something big was there. Big rocks = big bones. Sure enough, Walter sat down in our spot 3 days later and immediately uncovered a ceratopsian dentary! By this point were were already on to our next destination in Kemmerer, Wyoming. 3 days of splitting shale for fish, hoping for that elusive stingray! Like last year, day one was kind of slow. We were also much more picky in what we packed in the truck. No more partial fish this time, I wasnt going to fill my back set area with slabs unless they were quality. Day 2 produced a lot more volume of finds, and the biggest and best find was a huge palm leaf! The only problem is that it has no coloration to it. I'm still happy with it! My plan was to glue this to a piece of plywood to help stabilize it for the 1100 mile drive home. It had a block of matrix left on the back, so on the morning of day 3 I carefully split that chunk off. Now I had to change my plan! It revealed a large fish on the back of the slab! Most likely a Phareodus, and looks in beautiful condition. Of course, the fault crack runs straight down the spine, but I used paraloid to help glue the fault line and give it some more stability. Since I couldnt glue it down, I cut 2 pieces of plywood, wrapped the slab in a piece of packing blanket, and then used ratchet straps to hold everything tight for the ride home. After 3 days we did have quite a lot of material to haul home, but I had enough boxes for it all, and so far everything seems to have arrived some safe. I havent opened up the palm/pharo yet. fingers crossed. We still didnt find our stingray this year. I guess we'll just have to keep trying. Edit to add, I almost forgot to mention that I got the chance to meet up with @Ptychodus04 in Kemmerer. We were both in the area for fish at the same week, but in different quarries. We had a chance to meet up for dinner with crew (I'm sorry, I'm terrible with names). It was great to meet you Kris, I hope you had a fabulous hunt! On the trip home, I made a detour to visit the Dinosaur National Monument. It wasnt originally planned, but when I noticed how close we were to Vernal, UT, I coudnt pass it up. Covid prevented me from visiting on my last trip to Utah, but no this time. If youve never been, I highly recommend a visit! Its a truly incredible sight to see so many articulated bones in one place, still in the matrix as discovered. Even more impressive is that a lot of specimens actually have already been removed, and the site was originally so much bigger.